Editing Note: While I DID finish this post a day or so ago- the chapter isn’t scheduled to release for the next 5 days. It leaked early, so I did my thing. But I also wanted to put this one out there as soon as possible. I’ll make another post or something when the official comes out talking about the changes- if they’re substantial enough. Enjoy!!
THIS chapter- was all OVER the f*ckin’ place. It feels like more of Post Arc then another island with how Oda’s doing all this sh!t. I don’t know WHY he chose to do it that way; it could be that Egghead itself wasn’t going to be a Long arc- maybe not even 20 chapters- so he decided to add in all this stuff just to “break it up” and make sure we get the full picture, or maybe this is going to be the arc structure going forward as Oda tries to wrap up this story. He said in his Message to Jump Festa goers that there are no immediate plans to end the series, so I doubt he’s going to “speed it up.” But I also think he’s ready for us to share in the most Exciting Part of this 25+ Year Epic.
Seriously, put yourself in Oda’s shoes: You KNOW the fate of these character- The Fate of this GRAND WORLD that you invented, and you’re sharing it with people from ALL OVER the world. And you’ve been wanting to draw the most Exciting, EPIC part of this story for- again– 25+ YEARS. He’s probably more excited to see the ending than WE are. And now that the ending is closer than it’s EVER been; that “itch” he has to tell us what will happen next is getting worse. I doubt he’ll sacrifice the quality of the story just to tell us that, but it’s something that we should be aware of in this Final Saga. Still lookin’ forward to it, though; even if the story were to get WORST- the fan in me is just excited to get the Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of this story! So let’s stop stallin’ and get to it!
One Piece Chapter 1,071: “The Hero Deploys!” TCBScans who’s leaked early translations for the chapter have warned us that we should wait a little bit for the official. I just want to make this post so I’m not behind. So some things in this post are bound to change(though if I do this right, you won’t be able to tell what parts- unless you read the images).
REVIEW
We have a colored cover this week, so no more of the Germa’s cover story this time. Rather; we jump right into the chapter to see the Original Kuma sending himself all the way to the Red Port. He crashes into the base of the Red Line, scaring away the people around. Announcements tell the people to evacuate, as he’s presumed “Dangerous” as a former Warlord. That, and they don’t know what the he’s been programmed to do now that he’s returned………..
Back on Eggehead Island; Lucci has ordered that all routes on and off Egghead been placed on LOCKDOWN. Lucci refuses to accept that Luffy’s become an Emperor, and is determined to dispose of them all. While in the Frontier Dome; the Vegapunks begin packing for their trip with the Straw hat’s. Though Lilith wants to go and fight, and Edison just came up with a new invention. But Shaka reminds Evil Little Lilith that their top priority is to make sure the Main “Stella” body makes it off the island in One Piece(No Pun Intended)- the Satellites are “expendable(says the Logical One).” Lilith is annoyed with her fellow Satellite.
Pythagoras suggests that they contact their other ally, but Edison doesn’t think it’s a good idea to bring them into this situation- they’ll end up a traitor like Sentomaru. But the Stella body call them up anyway. The ally says that they’ve been “waiting for this order.” So while they keep CP-0 busy; Lilith can take them to the port with the Vega Force 01(though they can’t take it WITH them since it only works on Egghead). With all of that; it looks like it’s time to leave Egghead!!
Luffy’s Group: Bonney is really upset that Vegapunk sent all those bugs at her, and is looking to kick his @$$ for it. Luffy- having promised Sentomaru that he’d protect Vegapunk- chases after her. And then…….. something starts beeping. An announcement comes on: “Labo-Stratum Frontier Dome Defenses- Are Now Offline.” Someone has managed to secretly turn off the Defense System, allowing Aigis 0 to make their way into the Labo-stratum. When they arrive, they see the Thousand sunny, and their immediate thought is to smash it. Kaku sends a “Tempest Kick” at the ship, but Zoro wakes up in time to block the attack- upset that his nap was interrupted. They begin to fight, and we cut back to the Frontier Dome to learn that the Defense system is back on line. But the damage is DONE- Lucci and the others are already here! Lilith, however, is excited to get involved in a fight………
Luffy arrives, upset to learn that it’s already time to leave. But he remembers that he was also chasing after Bonney. Coincidentally; Vegapunk “Stella” has disappeared. And that’s because he’s fleeing for his life from Bonney. Elsewhere: Kidd’s crew come across a GIANT FISH. That, plus Killer looking at the map, tells them one thing: They are about to dock on ELBAF, Home of the Giants. Kidd is MORE THAN EAGER to check out this island………
We then jump over to G-14 for the final part of the chapter; we see Vice Admiral Doll fussing at Garp for requesting Man Power. They’re about to head for Egghead as is; they can’t spare any men. And here comes “Navy Hero” Garp planning to launch an Assault On A Yonko. He didn’t even bother getting clearance from the Top Brass of the Marines. And he’s already here anyone, so he just calls out for Helmeppo and Hibari. They’re going to Hachinosu to rescue Koby. One Piece Chapter 1,071 END!! That’s a lot of information to take in in 15 pages(the 2 doubles counting as 2 pages)………
Analysis
Okay, where the h#ll do I start with this one? ‘Cause there was just a lot of jumpin’ around. The thing with Kuma can only be speculation; we don’t have all the information as to what Kuma’s been programmed to do- or why Vegapunk can’t turn him back to normal. I kind of doubt that he was programmed to act like that Ancient Robot we see in Egghead’s junkyard to “Attack Mary Geiose” or something- but I also don’t think that he’s here just to be a slave. Perhaps…….. he’s here with some purpose in specific. That purpose likely being Collecting Information. And the day that Sabo and the others launched that attack; he- along with Sabo- caught a glimpse of something that he shouldn’t have. Maybe A Lot Of Things he shouldn’t have.
Here’s An Idea: Im…….. is a “Breed-A-Part” from someone like Charlos. He’s not so much of an awful living creature that he does even HALF of what we’ve seen the other Celestial Dragon’s do- he likely doesn’t beat on slaves for the smallest things; he probably doesn’t have a whole Horde of “Wives” around him; he probably doesn’t even leave Pangea Castle unless it’s deemed ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. HOWEVER……… it’s not like……… he’s 150% Totally Different from the others. Sees himself as a “God;” thinks everyone exists because he allows it, or “just to serve him” or something like that. As such; I imagine that he won’t use people as Horses- but would rent out Kuma for a day just for fun. Or rather; he’d have one of the Gorosei do it. All of this to say: Kuma may well know about Im.
This assuming that Im and the Gorosei aren’t totally paranoid, that is. Which they absolutely ARE. So they might not have done something like that- just because they don’t really know that much about how Vegapunk’s tech works. They don’t know if he’s planted some Surveillance Equipment in him to look for Weaknesses in Mary Geiose’s Security. And Im wants NO ONE to know he exists- as Sabo and Lulusia learned the HARD way. That simple knowledge made me not want to mention that theory, but there may be some merit to it- if Im really is from the Void Century and wants the same technology they had to ensure his rule continues. In that instance, I think the Gorosei would rent Kuma and Im would conduct his own experiments on Kuma, learning about his technological make up and……… maybe even making HIMSELF a Cyborg of that level, be it for the longevity he could have from it or to have other options should the day even come where he has to fight himself(which may come sooner than he thinks)…….
All of this ties to Kuma in that he may well have been programmed to get information on the Holy Land’s secrets. And Im and everything connected to him would be the BIGGEST Secret of all. And there’s enough humanity left to realize how important it is that he goes back to get more dirt about the Government. But like said- Just an assumption. I can’t say what he’s here for ’til we either see what he’s doing or here about it in the paper.
This chapter also tells us that ALL of the Vegapunk’s are going to be going with the Straw hat’s. Don’t know if people were ever debating on that topic, but now we have an answer. But of course– as with Carrot- we(at least I want to) talk about the discussion of Next Nakama. I don’t want to get my hopes up like I did with Carrot. Speaking of, we still don’t KNOW what’s going on with Carrot- Oda just kind of left that hanging there. I don’t know why; some fans pointed to a box on the Straw Hat’s ship that looked like it had Rabbit ears coming out of it, but……… it’s so f*cking far away in such a busy panel that I don’t feel like it’s viable for anything. Looking at it now, I can’t even find the f*cking ears. But I bring this up because…….. There are 7 Characters that are about to board their ship for passage. And Oda’s saying there’s still more story left before the ending. No Way in H#ll are we going to come away with this without one of 2 joining the crew, right? Right?!
I think we’re in agreement that- if ANY of the Vegapunk’s were to join the crew- it would probably be Lilith. Just being honest. She was the FIRST ONE we met; she’s got the personality of- let’s be honest– a Pirate: Steals from other Pirates; brutal and always ready to fight; I didn’t want to have to say this because I don’t think Oda has a “Quota” he needs to meet, but- Another Female. Sanji would like that, and I think we’re eager just to have another Female member on screen. For all that and more that I’m certain you’ll tell me in the comments; I fully believe that Lilith is a safe option for “Next Nakama.” Even if York is my Spirit animal. Maybe York, too.
Honestly; Lilith, York, maybe Atlas, and Shaka. Rest of them are gone when they go to Elbaf. I say Shaka 1)I don’t just want to pick all the females and 2)because I find him to be the most rational of them all. And that would be so funny to see clash with the Straw Hat’s. Atlas is tough enough to go with them. And York just because. Though they probably won’t let another Glutton on board since they already have trouble feeding Luffy. Probably the same situation with Bonney, since she’s probably going to need to go with them if she’s to leave this island. 3 Luffy Level Gluttons On the Sunny………. They may just starve to death before they reach the next island.
Speaking Of: Kidd’s Going To Be In The Elbaf Arc. If I had to name the “Most Anticipated Arcs of One Piece,” then i would have to say that the build up to the Alabasta arc was really good; Summit War Saga is the best and you can’t tell me otherwise- from the arrival on Sabaody to the moment Luffy went on a 2 year training regimen; they’ve been fighting Kaido since they came to the New World, but Wano was a bit of a letdown; and then you have ELBAF. Elbaf has been built up……… for I don’t even know How Long. But easily more than Wano was. If all this foreshadowing and hints at what’s to come FROM the Elbaf arc wasn’t enough to convince you that we are going there next, then…….. I don’t know what to tell ya. We’re going to have Kidd there; Blackbeard is fighting Law somewhere congruent to Elbaf- with Pudding in toe; Saul is there with what could be salvaged of Ohara’s knowledge; and there will certainly be more as this arc continues. Point Is: We are ELBAF BOUND.
Zoro vs Kaku R2. We saw how Luffy faired in his rematch; Zoro probably won’t be any different. Looking at him, he’s not even wearing his bandana. I don’t think Zoro is going to struggle with this fight at all. No if Lucci and Stucci jump in with Kaku- THEN this might be a problem. I don’t know how Zoro feels using Enma casually yet; the Haki he has to pump into that thing for it to listen is ENORMOUS. Then again- Gear 5th vs Awakened Lucci. So we’ll probably see Enma again, but it’s gonna be draining on him.
Lastly: Garp And Helmeppo going to Hachinosu. Oh, wait- G-14 is shipping out to Egghead. Smoker and Tashigi are there, and are likely coming along. New Luffy vs Smoker match. Smoker is getting FOLDED, but I still want to see it! But back to Garp; he’s building a team to storm Hachinosu. He’s not a young man, anymore; he may not be able to rumble with the “Big dogs” like he used to- hard as it might be to admit. He won’t DIE; that much I’m certain of. But I do think he’s going to have some kind of permanent battle damage going into the Throne Wars. Heck, he may end up getting himself, Helmeppo, and Hibari captured by Blackbeard!! Okay, that last part is debatable. But I don’t think that they’ll be able to save Koby with just whatever team Garp is making. We see the “Main” Blackbeard Pirates with Teech fighting Law, but that still leaves cheaters like Shiryu, Catarina Devon, presumably Sanjuan Wolf that f*cking Goliath; and GOD knows who else he’s pimped out with Powerful Fruits to keep that island in check while he’s gone.
One would also think that Wang Zhi will be there- either to reclaim his territory after amassing a strong Fighting force, or because he was captured by Blackbeard and locked up on Hachinosu. Though I imagine he’d have some kind of powerful fruit, that Teech would LEAP at the chance to swipe. And I imagine that between Teech who stole his island; Koby who accidentally helped Teech do that; Law who MASTERMINDED the whole event; and the “Navy Hero” of his era………. he’s got some names on his Sh!t list that he wants to Cross Out in One Fell Swoop……
Conclusion
I’ve had to work the last few days- pretty much the past 4 days that I’ve been writing this post. And in said time; I’ve had work, talking with my brother and random sh!t, making Brownies, and enjoying watching the Avatar: The Last Airbender Complete Series boxset that I got for Christmas. I’ve been BUSY. So if the last……. 3 or so paragraph’s don’t seem all that “Put Together,” then that’s why. But I. Am. LOVING talking about “One Piece” right now. The new way I do posts; the content; the fact that I got omnibus 11 for Christmas, too- I’m on a bit of a “One Piece Kick” right now. But it’ll be a minute before I can get to it; I’ve also been binging some Kaiju No 8 recently. Have you read that series? You SHOULD be; it’s f*ckin’ awesome!! I highly recommend it! Click here.
Let me know your own thoughts in the comments- on this, and Kaiju No 8 if you’ve got any thoughts! Until the next post, my friends-
